Travelling to Ukraine by car

I did the same approximately one year ago. I drove my car from England to Ukraine, across France, Belgium, Germany and Poland. I took the ferry from England to France at Dover. I used the Korczowa-Krakovets Polish/Ukrainian boarder crossing. I arrived at approximately 6pm in the evening and it was fairly quiet. I think there were only 2 or 3 cars ahead of me. I was the only English car crossing at that time; the other cars were either Polish or Ukrainian.

The boarder control was pretty simple to cross. I was bringing with me a lot of personal belongings (I was emigrating at the time) and my car was loaded up with personal goods. I made sure that I only answered the questions that I was asked and did not tell them too much. I also only spoke in English, although I can speak some Russian. The officer was not interested in anything that I had in the car. This was the first step. She then gave me a piece of paper and told me to proceed.

The piece of paper requires 2 stamps - one for the vehicle and one for the passenger(s).

There are 2 booths - one for each stamp. Don't use the booth for another lane; I queued up for the booth for another lane because it was shorter, but I was sent back to the booth for my lane.

For me, they just needed to see my passport; pretty much the same as when you arrive at the airports. They will stamp your passport and also the piece of paper.

For my vehicle, they only wanted to see the registration document for my vehicle and my passport. I had, in my hand, my IDP and UK Insurance (I planned to buy Ukrainian insurance there) but they did not want to see any other paperwork. They stamped the piece of paper and sent me on my way.

As you drive away from the booths, there will be a security guard at the gates. He will take the piece of paper from you, check that it has the 2 stamps and them open the gate for you. And that's it. Within 30 minutes of arriving on the Polish side, I was entering Ukraine.

I think if you look like you have everything in order, speak only when spoken to and don't talk nervously, then the process is pretty simple.

If you need any more advice, please let me know...

Thanks Simon, that's great I can't remember where I saw that they need ownership details at the border but it does seem a bit strange especially when I will have my passport registration document etc and it's only a Citroen Picasso so nothing special. may I ask where do you get insurance when you have entered Ukraine, my wife who lives there was wondering if she can buy it before I get there then meet me somewhere near the border.

I'm not sure what they would expect as an ownership document; perhaps the invoice for when you purchased the car? They didn't ask me for this. I did have it with me though, so I could have provided it, if required. I think the registration document should be enough.

I planned to buy insurance after I crossed the boarder, but honestly I never actually got around to it. I kept my car in Ukraine from October to January and didn't have any problems with the police. I drove from Nikolaev to Kiev a couple of times and regularly between Nikolaev and Odessa, Kherson etc. I think, when the police see the UK plates, they don't want to stop you because of the language barrier.

If you are planning to keep your car in Ukraine for more than a few months, then insurance is probably worth looking into. I found that it's not like the UK; you typically have to visit a broker who will do this for you. Not all brokers deal with foreigners, so you might need to do some research. I'll find out more, if you need some advice...

I am American, living in Ukraine with my Ukrainian wife. We are in Poland and I want to buy a car here, put it in my name to bring back to Ukraine. I just don't know if this is possible, I'm being told I can't register the car here in poland since I am not a resident. Any ideas or suggestions?

Was your car a left-hand drive? I was thinking of driving to Ukraine but not necessarily in a UK vehicle.

There are thousands of Polish vehicles in Ukraine being driven by Ukrainian’s. Nothing expensive, just your usual cars. People simply go to Poland, hand over cash and drive it back to Ukraine.

There seems to be a loophole where you can bring a foreign car into Ukraine for 12 months without paying import duties. And, you simply need to take the car out of the country for a day to reset the 12 months.

I’m not sure I completely support this practice but I am aware of a few people who have done/are doing this...